On my Shelf

Film

16 June 2009

It is time again, the two for Tuesday, that time when I like to pair up two bloggers who, in my opinion, complement each other. Now there is almost an overload of social media out there, but with all of the information, I still think that people, no matter who you are, welcome the additional attention directed towards their sites (I would anyway...).

So here goes. Gesine and Julia. A cook and a baker both of whom have (or are about to have) a book. They are also both involved in the film industry.

Gesine left her life under the Hollywood lights to head off to the Green Mountain State to pursue a career as a baker. She is probably best known for her Macaroons, her fantastic sense of humor, and her Owl icon that appears all over the place - even on the gorgeous birthday cake that she made for herself this past March. Orange owls that decorated a sky-blue fondant covered a dark chocolate cake. Want to see how cool the cake looked? Well check it out for yourself! Gesine recently closed the doors of her Montpelier bakery to open a bakery down in Austin, TX, and between road trips North and South of the Mason-Dixon line, and she managed to write a book: Confessions of a Closet Master Baker. Not only is the name catchy (and again, one of those things that I wish I came up with myself) but you see actually see a preview of the book. Yes, you heard me correctly, you can SEE IT, right here, right now. The book comes out this fall, but you can pre-order it from Amazon. And while you are waiting to eat up all of the pages that I am sure are filled with fabulous bits and pieces of Gesine's life as a pastry chef, you can check out her recipes that she has posted on her blog.

Speaking of films and books, by now you have probably heard of Julie and Julia. No? Really? Are you KIDDING ME??? Well, not that I will do this any justice at all, but there is Julie Powell, who cooks. In fact, she channeled all thing Julia Child related and cooked, I mean why not? Why not wake up on a Wednesday morning and cook up Brandade de Morue: A Multi-use Extra, Trout Meuniere, Duchess Potatoes, Duck Pate Baked in its own skin, Rhode Island Johnny Cakes (one of my favorites by the way!) or Gateau Paris-Brest? Why not try it all? Well, that is exactly what Julie did, and she wrote a book about it. She wrote and wrote, and in fact, the book became quite noticed. So noticed in fact that it is now a movie. That being said, before you decide to spend your week's savings on heading to the big screen to see the film, buy the book. Sit down, and read. Open your mind, and see what Julie did, read about how she spent all those days, weeks, months. Then, only then go and see the movie.

So there they are. My two. My two for Tuesday for this week on this day. 16 June 2009.